GUANGXU SIX-CHARACTER MARKS IN IRON-RED AND OF THE PERIOD (1875-1908)

The playful design of bats and clouds decorating these vases is interpreted by J. Stuart, Joined Colors - Decoration and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain, Washington, D.C., 1993, p. 97, as meaning "vast happiness piled up to the sky." The author further explains, "The symbol of a red bat is combined with colored clouds that represent the upper limits of heaven (hongfu qitian). The clouds also form a pun, since the word 'cloud' (yun) sounds like another word for 'luck.'

This design was particularly popular during the Guangxu period, and can be found decorating vessels of various forms, such as the bottle vase in the Nanjing Museum, Jiangsu province, illustrated in China's Jingdezhen Porcelain through the Ages, Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1998, p. 357.